A slight observation commentary

Earlier this week some of us were shocked and surprised with the confined space close call in Indiana. Two men were found unconscious at the bottom of a well. Two firefighters went down to rescue and them and became incapacitated as…

One of America’s Worst Tragedies: The Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire

By FireRescue magazine editor-in-chief Tim Sendelbach



On the night of May 28, 1977, the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Ky., was the scene of one of the worst nightclub fires in U.S. history. Today marks the 33rd anniversary of that tragedy. Here, we look back at the incident and pay tribute to the firefighters who bravely battled the flames and pulled victims from the burning…

FROM FireRECRUITER.com:

I typically reserve my commentary type articles for my flagship site but I think it's appropriate to divest from that practice for the purpose of this post.

The following article tells of a small city that is threatening to stop collecting a voluntary public donation that has brought thousands and thousands of dollars in…

Welcome to the First Due Blog Carnival's second edition, "Influential Fire Reports". We asked you to share what firefighting report made a personal impact on how you operate as a firefighter or fire officer. The response was great and varied between being deeply personal and having a mission. Take…

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...May 23, 2010

It has been really quiet in terms of calls in the last two weeks. It seems that politics has made its way into so many places in our township, and just like a snake, is lifting its head up in places you don't expect it. Yes, our department and others. Cut-backs and budgets are to blame but what I don't understand is the need to sacrifice safety for dollars. I cannot comment more on this right now.

I am a bit…

First of all I thought that I'd preface this with a little history. I originally became a First Responder in 1995 and and EMT-B in 1997. I worked part time as a medic for about a year and then since I just met my wife and we got engaged something had to go. I kept the fire dept but stepped back from EMS. I let my EMT-B cert expire and just maintained my First Responder Cert.

The last couple years I started getting the EMS bug again and last year became recertified and an…

I have been writing once and a while about communication in the fire service. This got me to thinking about my own house. I pondered about this and figured that I should write a book about what the expectations are for new members in our house and district. This is a work in progress and I wanted to share it with everyone here and get your opinions on the rough draft. I have it mostly done and will be putting it up here in sections. I am starting out with the introduction and the first…

In honor of EMS Week 2010 - I present to you: Roll With It!

Read on, watch the video at www.firerecruiter.com

Canines to the Rescue, Part 2

Requirements for fielding K-9 teams in the fire & rescue services

By Brett Martinez



Note: This article is the second in a series of articles on canines in the fire and rescue services. Be sure to read Part 1, "Canines in…

“OOOHHHH, Look, Something Shiny!”

Don’t let the excitement of a new apparatus overwhelm your good judgment

By Scott Cook



It happens a lot. You’ve just purchased a new apparatus, and it’s ready for delivery. Hopefully, you’ll be doing a final inspection at the factory, but you may be doing it at the station when the vehicle is delivered. It all depends on who you bought it from and what you negotiated up front.



In…